Low exports in January, but no sign of pessimism

Estonian exports were down 11% in January for the first time since 2011. Minister of Entrepreneurship Liisa Oviir (SDE) said that the explanation was the economic situation of the main export partners.

In January 2016 Estonia exported goods in the amount of €825m, which is 11% less than in the same month a year ago. Imports were 2% higher than a year ago at €983m.

The trade deficit grew to €158m, which is more than two and a half times that of January 2015. The last time exports were this low was in 2011.

“Our closest export markets in the East as well as in the North clearly are in a recession, and the global economy isn’t showing signs of recovery either,” Oviir said. “The reasons are the same as in previous periods.”

Oviir sees the growth in imports as a positive sign. “Our exports are to a large extent reexports, which means that first we import, add something, and then export again. In this sense, this indicator is likely a good one.”

Even though the foreign trade balance didn't look good, services compensated for it, and at the moment the current account deficit wasn’t as big as it used to be during boom times years ago, Oviir said.

Erki Lõhmuste of the Finance Ministry’s fiscal policy division said that when combining goods and services, the export-import balance was still positive.

In the assessment of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, companies weren’t currently affected by low exports. “Talking to companies in the actual markets, one doesn’t get the idea that they’d all be very pessimistic or negative. Everybody’s looking for new markets, new customers, and they’re working on the development of their products,” said the chamber’s Director General, Mait Palts.

In Palts’ words, Finland making its way out of recession was an especially positive signal.

The Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure submitted a bill amending the Liquid Fuel Act which would require liquid fuel suppliers to add fuels produced from renewable sources, known as biofuels, to their gasoline and diesel fuel. Estonia will be the last EU member state to take on this obligation.

The two ministers in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Kadri Simson (Center) and Urve Palo (SDE), announced on Friday that they were recalling all members of the Riigikogu currently serving on state company supervisory boards.

There were a total of approimately 11,000 job vacancies in businesses, institutions and organizations in Estonia in the third quarter of 2016, which is a 7-year high following a 16-percent jump from the previous quarter and a 25-percent increase year over year.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Estonian Ministry of Finance have signed the second portion, worth 400 million euros, of a co-financing facility for Estonia aimed at supporting investments in research and innovation, sustainable transport infrastructure and the promotion of the development of the country's micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

AS Eesti Meedia, the largest media group in the Baltics, has acquired the exclusive free-to-air audovisual rights for the territory of the Republic of Estonia for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang and 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Looking into Eesti Energia’s Jordan and Utah projects, both focused on oil shale processing, the National Audit Office found that the company had explained the involved risks sufficiently before making the investment.

Estonian transmission system operator Elering has announced a public procurement tender to find a designer and constructor of the Estonian section of the planned third Estonian-Latvian power connection, the total cost of which will be 172 million euros.

Minister of Rural Affairs Martin Repinski (Center) has invited food producers with export experience to take part in a roundtable on food export that is to take place at the Ministry of Rural Affairs on Dec. 14.

Participating in Friday's Telecommunications Council in Brussels, Estonia supported changing the EU's communication legislation which would help member states to adopt 5th-generation networks more quickly.

Minister of Health and Labour Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) plans on implementing restrictions on alcohol advertising in Estonia that the previous government failed to pass in March, reported daily Eesti Päevaleht.

During the first two years of its e-residency project, which provides foreigners with the opportunity to register companies in Estonia and use other e-state services, Estonia already has 15,000 e-residents who have established more than 1,000 businesses. On the occasion of the second birthday of the program, the President of Estonia stressed the importance of the program in introducing Estonia to the world.

The Tallinn Administrative Court ruled on Thursday in favor of Estonia's privately-owned train operator Edelaraudtee, which means that the Estonian state must pay the company 2.1 million euros in damages due to premature termination of contract.

The Estonian government approved a proposal on Thursday, made by Minister of Justice Urmas Reinsalu in connection with Estonia's e-residency project, to repeal the requirement that the management board of a company registered in Estonia must be physically located in the country. The change is to take effect in January 2018.

In October 2016, the production of Estonia's industrial enterprises increased 5 percent compared to October of the previous year, as production increased in manufacturing and the energy sector but decreased in mining and quarrying.

On Nov. 29, representatives of the Tartu Division of the Estonian Free Party met with Latvian representatives of the Rail Baltic project in Riga in order to discuss the former’s desire to see the route of the international railway project changed to connect Tallinn with Riga via Tartu, not Pärnu, as currently planned. This proposed change, however, did not find support on the Latvian side.

According to Estonian state-owned company Port of Tallinn, the sea trials of the new ferry Tõll were successful, and so the vessel is expected to begin its journey toward Estonia at the end of December and enter into service under subsidiary TS Laevad in early January.

While next year’s budget allocates €4m to state-owned railway company Eesti Raudtee, what it needs is actually closer to €15m. As the European Union’s support payments are slowly shrinking, the need for state investment in Estonia’s railway infrastructure is increasing.